BLUE CREEK, Orange Walk District, November 2, 2020– Seven persons, mostly pastors, from Blue Creek Village, Orange Walk District, have been cited for being in violation of the recently amended Quarantine Regulations.
On Sunday, police officers visited a church in the village and found close to 300 Mennonite congregants, the majority of whom were not wearing face-masks, and they were not physically distanced.
Police spoke to five pastors — Walter Kornelson, 56; Jacob Klassen, 31; Johan Brau, 53; and Peter Nelson, 42, all farmers, and George Nelson, 26, who is self-employed, all of Cuatro Leguas, Blue Creek Village, and informed them that they had committed an offense by hosting a church service with more than 10 persons in attendance.
The members of the congregation as well were informed of the offense they had committed by attending a restricted social event. All persons were warned that they would receive a defendant summons for the offence of hosting or attending a restricted social event.
Commissioner of Police Chester Williams indicated in an interview today that the officers were tipped off about the gathering, and he called the actions of the pastors “reckless,” stating, “What happened in Blue Creek is a clear illustration of the church putting its congregation in harm’s way. It goes against the teaching of God; that is the bottom line, and again, I say do not put the blame on the police. The police were there, simply to enforce the letter of the law”.
Commissioner Williams indicated that seven persons are to be charged under the Quarantine Regulations for hosting an illegal activity, failure to wear a mask and failure to adhere to social distancing requirements.
In a press conference convened late this evening by the Chairman of Blue Creek, Abram Rempel, he said that they have been in silent protest of the restrictions on the church, but no more, he declared.
“The calling of God is higher than the calling of this government,” he said.
In response to a question that posited that Belize’s laws take precedence over any other law or doctrine, Rempel replied, “We have dialogued continuously with [the COVID-19 National Oversight Committee], to no avail, and we firmly believe that the Bible has a higher ruling.
“We were asking for an understanding, and we weren’t getting an understanding. Therefore, we are willing to go the higher calling, and the higher ruling, which is the Bible”.
Rempel confirmed that the majority of the congregation were not wearing face-masks and contends that there is no scientific proof that a mask will stop any virus.
Rempel affirms that the community plans to continue with church services this coming Sunday if the COVID-19 National Oversight Committee (NOC) will not revise its decision on church fellowship, but such a revision will not be possible, since that committee was dissolved today. The body held its last meeting today, and one of its final decisions was to partially accept the recommendation of the Banana Growers Association that a curfew from 8:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. be imposed in the Banana Belt villages in the South, where there has been an outbreak of COVID-19 cases.
However, for now, the NOC only granted a curfew for Bella Vista and Santa Cruz. That curfew will last 14 days and will be accompanied with a prohibition on the sale of alcohol. A date for the start of the new measures will be announced later.